M A I N   N E W S

Chaos on Delhi roads
Our Correspondent

New Delhi, April 2
Chaos prevailed in the Capital as very few buses on CNG plied on the roads, autorickshaws fleeced customers and commuters had a hard time despite today being a holiday.

Faced with a gloomy prospect of the transport crisis going out of control tomorrow, when most of the offices and schools would reopen, the Delhi Government moved an urgent application before the Supreme Court today seeking relaxation of the mandatory permit norm for buses for seven days to ease the woes of commuters.

Even as the private bus operators were running from pillar to post to fulfil the criteria set by the apex court to get some more time to buy CNG vehicles, the Delhi Government gave a rude shock to the commuters saying that it would take more than six days to issue special permits to all bus and auto-operators to ply their vehicles in view of the Supreme Court order.

“We cannot issue all permits before Sunday. At least 90 per cent situation will be under control by Monday”, city Transport Minister Parvez Hashmi told reporters.

At least 27, 600 affidavits have been filed in the apex court and these have been scrutinised by the Transport Department so that permits could be issued, Mr Hashmi said.

The minister said everyday around 3,000 permits would be issued and the situation would return to normal by Monday.

Admitting that the commuters in the Capital were facing hardships due to lesser number of buses and alleged overcharging by the auto-rickshaws. he said, “People will have to bear four or five days more”.

Regarding the infrastructure, particularly the filling station required for CNG buses, which would start plying from October, he said the land for these was to be allotted by the Central Government.

The minister said, “The success or failure of the CNG issue will depend on the Centre. We only have to implement the Supreme Court order but the land for the filling stations has to be made available by the Union Surface Ministry”.

Mr Hashmi said if the proper infrastructure was not available by September-end, running CNG would be difficult, adding that the Centre would be responsible for it.

The Delhi Government had conveyed the difficulties to the Supreme Court from time to time, he added.

The minister said after a Cabinet meeting yesterday about 10,500 buses, 32,000 three-wheelers, 2000 taxis, 348 mini buses and 300 “phatphats” (motor cycle rickshaws) had applied for CNG.